I take back every good thing I've ever said about Montgomery Co. (Silver Spring: foreclosures, high crime)

[TrippingJay]

Originally Posted by vanyali

I, vanyali, hereby disavow every nice thing I have ever said about Montgomery County, Maryland.

Yes, the schools have good test scores and very expensive buildings. Yes, you can walk to shopping and restaurants from some neighborhoods. But the people here completely ruin it all.

Think busybody housewives who have never had any real responsibility and have nothing to do other than gossip about and pester the neighbors. Think completely homicidal drivers who take a turn signal from a car changing lanes as a challenge. These people have no perspective, and are actively dangerous. If you value your peace, your privacy, or your property, stay far, far away -- especially from Chevy Chase, Bethesda, Somerset, and that area.

I used to think that the people who ranted about this on the forum were cranks, and then I moved in. Boy, I really should have listened.

I think you've descibed just about every posh and upper-middle class suburban area in America. Bethesda is hardly any different than these places.

[Doorway]

Originally Posted by vanyali

I, vanyali, hereby disavow every nice thing I have ever said about Montgomery County, Maryland.

Yes, the schools have good test scores and very expensive buildings. Yes, you can walk to shopping and restaurants from some neighborhoods. But the people here completely ruin it all.

Think busybody housewives who have never had any real responsibility and have nothing to do other than gossip about and pester the neighbors. Think completely homicidal drivers who take a turn signal from a car changing lanes as a challenge. These people have no perspective, and are actively dangerous. If you value your peace, your privacy, or your property, stay far, far away -- especially from Chevy Chase, Bethesda, Somerset, and that area.

I used to think that the people who ranted about this on the forum were cranks, and then I moved in. Boy, I really should have listened.

Really??? Is it worse than Charlotte? I lived in Montgomery Co. for 23 years and loved it. I just, this summer, went back to visit some of my stay at home friends and had a blast. Oh well, to each his own.

[Tom Lennox 70]

Originally Posted by Tim Rankin

The latest MD cities to come up on CNNMoney's best places list were Columbia/Ellicott City, Rockville, Gaithersburg and Germantown. I remarked at the time that they seemed over-rated, and still stand by that. Not that I'm completely down about them as places to live, but looking at numbers & statistics can only get you so far.

I would propose that CNNMoney add a "craziness" factor into their final numbers, that lowers the final scores, based on the stress induced by population density.

In Maryland I can imagine myself living on the Eastern Shore or in Carroll, Harford, Frederick or Carroll Counties, though Frederick is a bit too cold and snowy. People are also pretty nice in parts of Baltimore County like Dundalk and Essex. Arbutus was also very friendly.

[Tom Lennox 70]

Originally Posted by dkf747

Which area do you live in? I've heard a few bad comments from some people around here, but most have been real nice people.

Most of the worst ones (coming from a former MoCo resident who went to high school there) are from Potomac and Bethesda. They are the most yuppie, obnoxious, rude, materialistic, shallow and pretentious places between Manhattan and Palm Beach. A lot of these people are originally from New York and nEW jERSEY so I'm not exactly surprised.

[md to nc]

Originally Posted by vanyali

I, vanyali, hereby disavow every nice thing I have ever said about Montgomery County, Maryland.

Yes, the schools have good test scores and very expensive buildings. Yes, you can walk to shopping and restaurants from some neighborhoods. But the people here completely ruin it all.

Think busybody housewives who have never had any real responsibility and have nothing to do other than gossip about and pester the neighbors. Think completely homicidal drivers who take a turn signal from a car changing lanes as a challenge. These people have no perspective, and are actively dangerous. If you value your peace, your privacy, or your property, stay far, far away -- especially from Chevy Chase, Bethesda, Somerset, and that area.

I used to think that the people who ranted about this on the forum were cranks, and then I moved in. Boy, I really should have listened.

Hate to say, told you so. I had to do medical billing for this area, talk about a headache everyday. The women in that area would not even know how to count more or less know how to bill an office visit. MoCo is the worst area to live for having snooty, busy body people who think they are better then everyone else. But then again, I guess Charlotte is so bad, sometimes it is not better where you think it is and sometimes those who give their opinion really are trying to help you out.

[md to nc]

Originally Posted by Tom Lennox 70

Most of the worst ones (coming from a former MoCo resident who went to high school there) are from Potomac and Bethesda. They are the most yuppie, obnoxious, rude, materialistic, shallow and pretentious places between Manhattan and Palm Beach. A lot of these people are originally from New York and nEW jERSEY so I'm not exactly surprised.

Yes you are right. they are from NY and NJ, I have two particular families in my neighborhood in Charlotte, well Indian Trail NC. They are the most stuck up I am better than you and I can do what I want attitude type people I have ever met. Whatever rules are, they are above them and do not have to follow them. They are invading all areas.

[Regularguy123]

Originally Posted by Grizzmeister

Really! That’s bad news because even if Maryland house prices drop 30% (as most economist think they must) the average person making 2 to 3 times the minimum wage still can’t afford them. Worse still is the fact that lending standards have become so strict buyers must now come up with at least a 10% down payment at closing.

MoCo has its share of headaches and overpriced housing as do many other locations. The average person making 2 to 3 times minimum wage probably does not even consider most parts of MoCo when looking to buy a house. This person would most likely rent a house or apartment in MoCo.

With respect to having a 10% downpayment for a home purchase, that was the rule of thumb many years ago. For 20% down, you avoided Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI), thus saving you monthly $. Lending standards were reduced so much during the mid to late 90's, which became one (there are so many more) of the sparks igniting much of our current financial mess. Too-easy credit then fueled a massive increase in housing prices as people bought houses they couldn’t afford with mortgages they weren’t able to pay off. The great salesmen developed financial packages to get you in that house today - not verifying income, zero downpayment, or paying interest only. Thank your friends the housing speculators too!

In the end, requiring a 10% downpayment isn't such a bad thing. It shows you can at least save $ and are somewhat responsible. The "average person" who wanted a home 30 years ago or so, usually made purchases within their means, shunned credit cards, sacrificed vacations, did not regularly buy new cars, etc... all in order to save a downpayment to finally buy a home.

[vanyali]

Originally Posted by Kensington

Based on your many, many posts, you don't seem to like anywhere you've lived. And why all the hate for the stay-at-home moms? Sorry you don't think that running a household is "real" responsibility. Maybe you are the one that needs some perspective?

I liked Brooklyn. Brooklyn was awesome, as I've said before.

I think it would be a sign of bad judgment if I were to say good things about the last place I lived -- South Charlotte in North Carolina. And now that place is crashing and burning as Wachovia gets carved up and Bank of America moves people out to New York and other places and the hedge fund managers and other little banking parasites pick up stakes and move back to London. It was a pit of nouveau riche vipers in its very brief heyday, and now it's going to go back to being the depressed little pit it was some years before. It might then be a nicer place to live.

MoCo is more like South Charlotte than like Brooklyn.

I'm in Chevy Chase, by the border with Bethesda. So yeah, I was asking for it. But the mix of malicious busy-bodying and outright snobbery that we've experienced here really is approaching Manhattan levels.

You know what my kid's gym teacher said to her the other day? The teacher asked a question, and my daughter answered it, and then the teacher said that it was the smartest answer she's heard in her 12 years of teaching "from a kid that didn't go to [that public elementary school] the year before". What, every kid who goes to any other school in the whole world must be a complete moron because MoCo schools are just THAT superior? She's in second grade, there's not that much even the worst school district could have screwed her up in one year. This from a school that has closed all of its playing fields for the year because letting kids actually play on them makes the grass too unsightly.

[vanyali]

Originally Posted by md to nc

Yes you are right. they are from NY and NJ, I have two particular families in my neighborhood in Charlotte, well Indian Trail NC. They are the most stuck up I am better than you and I can do what I want attitude type people I have ever met. Whatever rules are, they are above them and do not have to follow them. They are invading all areas.

Jeeze, I'd have hoped that things would have been better out in Indian Trail. Sorry to hear about that. How are things out your way nowadays anyway? It kind of feels like the whole city started falling apart right as I was getting out.

Yes, I know that many people on the forums give honest opinions and try very hard to be helpful, and I take what I read as heartfelt. But I also figure you have to read between the lines a little bit to get a full picture, since different people like and dislike different things. If my Charlotte neighbors were singing the praises of a place, for example, I'd be a little wary. Or as another example, a little abrasiveness in a population can be a good thing sometimes (at least to me). It can be deadly horrible other times. It kind of depends on the details, which leaves a lot of room for interpretation.

[Doorway]

Originally Posted by vanyali

I liked Brooklyn. Brooklyn was awesome, as I've said before.

I think it would be a sign of bad judgment if I were to say good things about the last place I lived -- South Charlotte in North Carolina. And now that place is crashing and burning as Wachovia gets carved up and Bank of America moves people out to New York and other places and the hedge fund managers and other little banking parasites pick up stakes and move back to London. It was a pit of nouveau riche vipers in its very brief heyday, and now it's going to go back to being the depressed little pit it was some years before. It might then be a nicer place to live.

MoCo is more like South Charlotte than like Brooklyn.

I'm in Chevy Chase, by the border with Bethesda. So yeah, I was asking for it. But the mix of malicious busy-bodying and outright snobbery that we've experienced here really is approaching Manhattan levels.

You know what my kid's gym teacher said to her the other day? The teacher asked a question, and my daughter answered it, and then the teacher said that it was the smartest answer she's heard in her 12 years of teaching "from a kid that didn't go to [that public elementary school] the year before". What, every kid who goes to any other school in the whole world must be a complete moron because MoCo schools are just THAT superior? She's in second grade, there's not that much even the worst school district could have screwed her up in one year. This from a school that has closed all of its playing fields for the year because letting kids actually play on them makes the grass too unsightly.

Glad to see that your bitterness towards everything has not rubbed off on your daughter and that she is really bright in Gym.